Presentation at the session B1 Plural values of marine and coastal ecosystem services towards sustainable spatial planning and inclusive governance of marine and coastal systems

Her presentation is titled: ‘Can Seaweed Aquaculture Industry fit the Nature-Based (& Ecosystems-Based) Solutions Discourse? Insights from GlobalSeaweedSTAR (2017- 2021) Initiative’

Author(s):: Nidhi Nagabhatla and Elizabeth J. Cottier-Cook

Abstract

The sustainable use of ocean resources is central to Sustainable Development Goal (SDG14) and targets that cover conserving coastal and marine ecosystems as well as increasing the economic benefits from their sustainable use. The conventional aquaculture sector has been often slammed for causing disruption of key ecosystems service in settings where regulations are not enforced properly or lack them. Noting the growing concern for sustainable coastal and marine ecosystems various global governance mechanisms like SDG14, Blue Economy, and the Ocean Decade (2021-2030), the UN Decade for Ecosystem Restoration (2021-2030) position the vision of applying scientific knowledge and evidence for sustainable ocean ecosystems and ‘transformative ocean science solutions, for creating resilient communities and evidence supporting policies reforms. In this setting, we situated a collaborative and multidisciplinary science and policy project: the GlobalSeaweedSTAR (2017-2021). With the objective to outline guiding sustainability-focused principles for the rapidly emerging multi-billion-dollar Seaweed Aquaculture Industry based on the appropriate acknowledgment of ecosystems services and tying with the concepts outlined in nature-based solutions frameworks, our investigation captured the key trends and patterns of sector’s growth for past 50 years, noting that it spreads > 50 % of total global marine production, supports =6 million small-scale farmers and stakeholders in global value chains, men and women, subsistence populations and communities in coastal zones of low- and middle-income countries. Based on our learning from several reviewed publications and four Policy Briefs (2021-2022) that directly and indirectly involved > 100 global seaweed experts regional and national partners in Asia and Africa and in Global North, we will present a set of policy recommendations that can serve as a reference for the sector to start harmonizing ecological benefits and economic profitability, concerns of ecosystems and human health in tandem to make a case for Seaweed Aquaculture Industry as NBS and coastal protection intervention.